Venezuela

Carlos Parra used to love waking up to see his pet albino boxer, Nina. Now, seeing her skeletal body on the floor next to his bed has become a daily reminder of the economic crisis engulfing Venezuela.

His other dog's thick fur barely hides her ribcage as Parra struggles to feed his pets after losing his job at a shoe store.

"It's terrible to sit and eat, see them watching me with hunger, and not be able to do anything," said the 30-year-old.

As Venezuela's economic crunch worsens, food shortages and rising poverty are forcing once middle-class Venezuelans to do the unthinkable: let their pets starve or abandon them in the streets.

Tebie Gonzalez and Ramiro Ramirez still have their sleek apartment, a fridge covered with souvenir magnets from vacations aboard, and closets full of name brand clothes. But they feel hunger drawing close.
So when the Venezuelan government opened the...